Hanoi news

Hanoi, HCM City both see CPI rise in February

The consumer price index (CPI) of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in February rose by 0.89 percent and 0.34 percent over the previous month, and up 2.86 percent and 2.41 percent year-on-year (Photo: VNA)

The consumer price index
(CPI) of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in February rose by 0.89 percent and 0.34 percent
over the previous month, and up 2.86 percent and 2.41 percent year-on-year,
respectively.

The rise was driven by the high demand for commodities
and services during the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, the country’s largest
holidays in a year.

According to the Hanoi Statistics Office, compared
with the previous month, increases were seen in most of the commodity groups,
especially food and catering (2.17 percent). The prices of food, including
pork, beef, poultry, seafood and vegetables, also surged in the period.

In February, the city served 848,000 domestic
visitors. Earnings from accommodation and catering services reached about 10
trillion VND (439.37 million USD) in the first two months of 2018, rising 11.5
percent against same period last year.

Hanoi’s export revenue is estimated to hit 2.09 billion
USD in the Jan-Feb period, up 25.1 percent year-on-year while its import is
valued at 2.49 billion USD, up 15.4 percent.

In the southern largest economic hub of HCM City, the prices
of eight out of 11 commodity baskets recorded growth, with the highest rate
seen in food and catering at 0.81 percent, reported the municipal Statistics
Office on February 28.